Although the films La Belle et la Bête and Mirror, Mirror are, ostensibly, vastly divergent retellings of classic fairy tales, “Beauty and the Beast” (originally published by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in 1740) and “Snow White” (made popular by the Brothers Grimm in 1812), respectively, they are similar in that their merits lie primarily in their aesthetics, though neither does much to augment the traditional tales on which they are based. La Belle et la Bête, directed by Jean Cocteau, is commendable for its use of lighting, cinematography, and visual effects; most notably in the successful creation of a surreal Beast’s palace, despite the limited resources available to filmmakers in the mid 1940s. The portrayal of such wholly good characters as Belle, in contrast with such wholly evil characters as her sisters, however, comes across as hyperbolic. The film’s terse dialogue, ironically, gives the central romance an air of superficiality. Similarly, regardless of the many weaknesses of Mirror, Mirror, the costumes, makeup, and set design make viewing tolerable. [click to continue….]
{ 0 comments }
